


Rappy Rehab

by Saber_Knight



Category: Phantasy Star (Video Games), Phantasy Star Online 2
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Many Rappies, My First Work in This Fandom, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26101909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saber_Knight/pseuds/Saber_Knight
Summary: In which Persona is dog-piled by a flock of rappies in the forest of Nevarius.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Rappy Rehab

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small little fluff piece inspired by a piece of fanart with Persona sitting on a log with a Rappy cuddled up at his feet.

Failure...always, always failure...Persona pulled his fist back and slammed it into the trunk of the closest tree, startling several young Avis from the boughs above with indignant squawks. The Dark Falz growled softly, ignoring the throbbing that now coursed through his clawed fist. He'd been close...so close to finally bringing an end to this...he'd actually managed to drive his sword into her chest this time...but then...then...

*He* showed up. His own fricking past self; young, and innocent, long before he'd ever fallen to despair...and fucked it all up. Of course *he* would have to show up and interfere at that exact moment...one Persona had so carefully plotted and waited for...He'd stabbed Matoi, she was dying, and Clarissa should have finished her off...but then *he* had to go and try to heal her, and cause the catalyst for the Profound Darkness to trigger...Xaio had tried to pull his past self away, interfering with Xion's power as she tried to finish Matoi before the Profound fully awoke...and in the process cast Persona into time and space limbo in the resulting explosion of power. 

When he'd awoken he'd found himself on Nevarius, but he had no clue as to where or when, and he'd been unable to contact Xion. For all he knew, he could have been so far into the past the Profound wasn't even a threat yet...but then once more...his past self had shown up...Persona'd flown into a rage at the sight of his bewildered counterpart, and attacked him without remorse for interfering in his assassination attempt on Matoi; thankfully, Gettemhault had shown up and knocked him on his ass, and Persona'd withdrawn. Looking back, killing his past self during his ARKs final exam...that was uncalled for. He hadn't known what was going on then...

The Dark Falz let out a huff and flopped onto the trunk of a fallen tree, holding his head in his clawed hands. Why did he even bother anymore? No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried...over and over and over again it always ended up the same. It didn't matter how much he interfered, how little he interfered, who was or wasn't there; Matoi always became the Profound Darkness. And he always had to end her suffering, before she destroyed everyone and everything that she cared about, damning himself to an eternity of despair and futility in the process.

Why did fate have to be so cruel? Was there truly no way out...no thread that wove through fate's tapestry that led to the embroidered ending he so desperately sought? One where Matoi could live like a normal girl...do normal things...and not become the end of the universe itself...? Xion had told him it was futile, that all paths led to Matoi becoming the Profound Darkness and destroying everything. But he'd refused to believe the sentient ocean, and she'd at least humored his attempts to change fate and aided his endeavors. Surely, there had to be a path somewhere, hidden in the infinite weaves of the time stream. He....he just had to find it...somehow...

Oh, who the fuck was he kidding? He'd lost count of how many times he'd tried; tried and failed, tried and failed, failed failed *failed*. And every failure saw hope's flame snuffed bit by bit within him until there was nothing left but this broken, tired husk of his former self. All he could do now was try and end Matoi's life *before* she coiuld become the Profound Darkness...give her a chance to be reborn, and maybe be able to live the life she'd always dreamed about. And yet...

Persona shifted his hand and removed his mask, letting his two-tone hair fall freely around his face. He was alone in the middle of nowhere, no one would find or see him here...he turned the mask around and stared down at it, his tired reflection staring back at him. His shoulders shook as a single tear slid his cheek and dripped onto the mask. He grit his teeth, cursing his weakness, but his emotions wouldn't be denied as several more droplets joined the first on the curves of his mask.

"Dammit...it's not fair...why...?" His distorted voice wavered through his tears. "Why...can't I save you...?" He gave up trying to hold it in and just let it out; his mask fell from his grasp and landed with a soft thunk on the grass between his feet as he threaded his fingers through his hair, his claw tips digging into his scalp. "Why...?" He trembled and sobbed, the negative photons that made up his being reacting strongly to his despair. "WHYYYY?!" he screamed, a crimson glow forming and raging around his body.

"....Kyuuu kyu...?" Persona started when he felt a small feathery body gently nudge his side, and he snapped his gaze to look, ready to lash out with his claws...only to be greeted by the tear-blurred sight of a small yellow rappy standing on the log next to him, its bright blue eyes looking at him. "Kyuuu?" It chirped at him, and nudged him with its head again. He stared stupidly at it, stunned as to why the creature was even near him...normally the wildlife avoided him, with good reason. 

"...What..." he grunted tiredly. "Shouldn't you be-" his voice trailed off as the rappy suddenly waddled into his lap, snuggling up to him. "Uh..."

"Kyuuu!" The rappy nuzzled him, settling itself before looking up at him. "Kyu~ Kyu~."

"I....you shouldn't be here," he tried to scold it, but the bird was having none of it. It kept nuzzling him, kyuuing and looking at him expectantly. Was...it trying to comfort him? He hesitantly raised a hand and gently ran his claws across the creatures soft feathers, petting it as carefully as he could. It seemed to like this and snuggled closer to him. He kept gently stroking it, and after a bit a tiny smiled tugged at the corner of his lips. He had a hidden soft spot for the creatures, and Matoi....Matoi absolutely adored them. A fresh pang of despair and pain shot through his core, as fresh tears started to gather in his eyes....

"Kyuuuuuu!" The rappy in his lap suddenly let out a cry, and several more rappies burst out of the nearby foliage, tree branches, bushes, everywhere! He blinked and suddenly found himself mobbed by the multi-colored flock, all of them kyuu-ing in a singsong manner, nuzzling what parts of him they could reach, and snuggling wherever they could find space to perch themselves on and around him. He was speechless, and could only stare as the birds made themselves at home; he couldn't even move without disturbing at least one or two of them. The absurdity of the situation he found himself in finally took root, and he let out a soft chuckle which soon turned to full, saddened laughter as the crimson aura around him faded. Oh, this would be a story he would love to tell Matoi...but...he wouldn't be able to tell her...not like this...likely not ever...

"OW!!" Persona hissed as several of the rappies pecked him in unison as the despair began to creep back. "The fuck was that for?!" The rappies kyuued scoldingly at him, nuzzling and snuggling him. He stared at them for a moment, before sighing. It was...admittedly rather nice to not be alone, even if they were just rappies. He'd been on his own for so long; fighting alone, recovering alone, unable to rely on anyone but himself for survival...he let his guard down ever so slightly, letting the rappies warmth and soft melodic kyuuing comfort him. It didn't completely eliminate the deep loneliness, pain and despair that ever lingered in his core; he doubted anything ever truly could heal his tainted, broken soul. 

But for now...he relaxed further into the rappies comforting warmth, a soft sigh of content escaping him. He didn't think about what was, what would be, what could be...he just let himself exist in the moment, in the here and now...surrounded by a warm flock of cutely kyuuing rappies. His crimson eyes slowly slid shut, and he soon found himself drifting off into peaceful slumber for the first time in...he couldn't remember when.

When Persona woke, he was once more alone on the log in the middle of the forest. He slowly sat up, his back popping in protest from sleeping in such an unusal postion. Part of him wondered if the mob of rappies had been a despair-induced dream. He realized he didn't have his mask on, and after a moment of frantic searching saw it on the ground. He blinked; resting on his mask was a single golden rappy feather. After a moment, he leaned over and picked up the mask and the feather, his crimson gaze lingering on the feather. He spun it in his clawed fingers, smiling slightly. "Thank you," he whispered softly, before tucking the feather away safely inside his coat. He took a deep breath before bringing his mask back up; he'd wasted enough time. He adjusted his hair and pressed the mask to his face, feeling it secure into place. He then stood, stretched, and with a final look around the forest, wrapped himself in crimson energy and teleported away; he still had work to do.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I've ever posted anything I've written, and I hope ya'll enjoy this.


End file.
